Alan Greenspan, the longtime chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) who presided over an unprecedented American economic boom but was later blamed for failing to rein in financial markets before the 2008 global crisis, died Monday, U.S. media reported.

"Alan passed away at our home this morning at the age of 100 from complications of Parkinson's disease," his wife, Andrea Mitchell, a veteran correspondent with NBC News, said in a statement published by the network.

"He was a giant of a man who helped shape the U.S. economy for decades under presidents of both parties, but was always honest in acknowledging his mistakes," she added.